PGP2022 - Can I sponsor only one parent?

[pltianfang]

Hi everyone, I got the invitation letter for PGP2022 last week and I intend to sponsor both of my parents. However, I'm not able to provide my father's passport in the application, because he is a Chinese government officer whose travelling to foreign countries is strictly controlled until his retirement. The government will simply not issue him a passport, for "unnecessary reasons" such as tourism, family visit, and of course emigration.

I did some research online and I saw some similar questions asked a few years ago in this forum.
Most of the answers said it is ok to sponsor only one parent by listing the other parent as a non-accompanying dependent(based on the guide 5772, non-accompanying dependent are not required to provide passport), and the other parent has to be accounted in family size and he has to do medical as well. All of these are not a problem for me, I have enough income to sponsor both of them, my father is healthy, and he can provide all other supporting documents as listed in the guide.
There was also one answer said if the parents are married, it is not allowed to sponsor only one parent because it will be contrary to the intent of the PGP program for family reunion. I'm very worried of this.

So I apologize for this duplicated question, but does anyone know a recent successful case of sponsoring only one parent? Thanks for your attention!

 

[YVR123]

You can sponsor your mother and list your father as non-accompanying dependent.
The answers to "Not allow to sponsor only 1 parent" are for most that only have income to sponsor 1 of them and try to exclude the other in the family size calculation.
In your case which is pretty unique, you can apply to just sponsor your mother and both of them will need to go through medical, police and background check. I do not know if your father holding a goverment position will require more time to process his background check.

But in your case, yes, you can sponsor just your mother.

 

[pltianfang]

You can sponsor your mother and list your father as non-accompanying dependent.
The answers to "Not allow to sponsor only 1 parent" are for most that only have income to sponsor 1 of them and try to exclude the other in the family size calculation.
In your case which is pretty unique, you can apply to just sponsor your mother and both of them will need to go through medical, police and background check. I do not know if your father holding a goverment position will require more time to process his background check.

But in your case, yes, you can sponsor just your mother.

Thank you for your response! I guess my case is becoming common these years for Chinese applicants for various reasons....

 

[pltianfang]

You can sponsor your mother and list your father as non-accompanying dependent.
The answers to "Not allow to sponsor only 1 parent" are for most that only have income to sponsor 1 of them and try to exclude the other in the family size calculation.
In your case which is pretty unique, you can apply to just sponsor your mother and both of them will need to go through medical, police and background check. I do not know if your father holding a goverment position will require more time to process his background check.

But in your case, yes, you can sponsor just your mother.

The checklist IMM5771 has a note says "In general, if your parents (or grandparents) are separated and not divorced, you should submit one application for both parents since they are still married." Does this mean I cannot only sponsor my mother? Or is it possible that IRCC can make an exception for a valid reason?

 

[canuck78]

The checklist IMM5771 has a note says "In general, if your parents (or grandparents) are separated and not divorced, you should submit one application for both parents since they are still married." Does this mean I cannot only sponsor my mother? Or is it possible that IRCC can make an exception for a valid reason?

It means you should sponsor both parents. Your father can be a non-accompanying dependent. Can he get a copy of his passport? Given the limitations on his passport there are good chances that his job may lead to a much more in depth background check.

 

[pltianfang]

It means you should sponsor both parents. Your father can be a non-accompanying dependent. Can he get a copy of his passport? Given the limitations on his passport there are good chances that his job may lead to a much more in depth background check.

Thank you for your response! He never applied for a passport because he had no need to travel outside China. Now he cannot get one.
I'm fine with an additional BG check, at least it will complete one day and my father is totally clean, I'm sure of it. What I'm afraid of is that the application gets refused by IRCC because he is not accompanying my mother to Canada, and then I will have to draw this lottery again - and I can't be always lucky.

 

[canuck78]

Thank you for your response! He never applied for a passport because he had no need to travel outside China. Now he cannot get one.
I'm fine with an additional BG check, at least it will complete one day and my father is totally clean, I'm sure of it. What I'm afraid of is that the application gets refused by IRCC because he is not accompanying my mother to Canada, and then I will have to draw this lottery again - and I can't be always lucky.

The big issue is the lack of passport. Would he be granted a passport to submit sponsorship application if he explained that he planned to join his child when he retired? He wouldn’t even need to leave the passport office with the passport. Is this a well known policy internationally? I’m not sure how IRCC will deal with his application if he is unable to provide a passport and whether his reason would be acceptable. A passport is a key source of information for background checks and it is impossible to prove that he has never had a passport so that why it is so problematic. If he is unable to get a passport even if it doesn’t leave the passport office you don’t really have an option, you’ll need to apply without it with and include an explanation about his inability to secure a passport and see what happens. When will he be retiring? Will it be in the next 3 years? Processing times are up to 3 years these days so if he had a passport by the end of the process that may be an option.

 

[steaky]

Hi everyone, I got the invitation letter for PGP2022 last week and I intend to sponsor both of my parents. However, I'm not able to provide my father's passport in the application, because he is a Chinese government officer whose travelling to foreign countries is strictly controlled until his retirement. The government will simply not issue him a passport, for "unnecessary reasons" such as tourism, family visit, and of course emigration.

I wondered why an acquaintance of mine who is also a Chinese government officer could get a passport to visit North America for tourism purposes (many years ago), while your father cannot.

 

[canuck78]

I wondered why an acquaintance of mine who is also a Chinese government officer could get a passport to visit North America for tourism purposes (many years ago), while your father cannot.

There are a variety of jobs within the Chinese government that will come with different privileges and limitations. Millions of government workers aren’t all banned from getting passports. I would assume that the father has rare skills that the government wants to remain in China.

 

[pltianfang]

I wondered why an acquaintance of mine who is also a Chinese government officer could get a passport to visit North America for tourism purposes (many years ago), while your father cannot.

It is really about how many years ago you are referring to...the restriction was not there or not that stringent, in the "good old times". But in recent years, especially after COVID-19, the restriction is reinforced and imposed very strictly.

 

[pltianfang]

The big issue is the lack of passport. Would he be granted a passport to submit sponsorship application if he explained that he planned to join his child when he retired? He wouldn’t even need to leave the passport office with the passport. Is this a well known policy internationally? I’m not sure how IRCC will deal with his application if he is unable to provide a passport and whether his reason would be acceptable. A passport is a key source of information for background checks and it is impossible to prove that he has never had a passport so that why it is so problematic. If he is unable to get a passport even if it doesn’t leave the passport office you don’t really have an option, you’ll need to apply without it with and include an explanation about his inability to secure a passport and see what happens. When will he be retiring? Will it be in the next 3 years? Processing times are up to 3 years these days so if he had a passport by the end of the process that may be an option.

He has tried without success. The stipulation says personal trip outside the country must be approved by local CPC committee, but this is just theoretical. In practice, they just won't approve. I'm not sure if this policy is well known internationally or not, but it has been there for a few years after President Xi took the power.
If I list my father as a non-accompanying dependent, according to the instruction, his passport is not required. But I'm not sure if the VO will ask for it during the processing. Anyways, I think you are right, I don't really have an option. I will write an explanation letter.
My father will retire at the end of 2024, I don't know how quick he can get the passport. A rumor says the local CPC committee will only let it go after 3 years of retirement, so I guess better to not put my bet on this. I plan to submit the application for my mother and list him as a non-accompanying dependent, and if god bless he gets the passport during the processing, I guess I can use webform to update the application, correct?

There are a variety of jobs within the Chinese government that will come with different privileges and limitations. Millions of government workers aren’t all banned from getting passports. I would assume that the father has rare skills that the government wants to remain in China.

The truth is, he is just a normal public servant. He was the principal of a primary school for many years and then he got assigned a local government position in the bureau of education, and two years ago he was transferred to the bureau of sports without doing anything meaningful because of COVID-19 restrictions. He got this passport restriction only because of his level/rank, which is effectively the award of his long public service history.

 

[canuck78]

He has tried without success. The stipulation says personal trip outside the country must be approved by local CPC committee, but this is just theoretical. In practice, they just won't approve. I'm not sure if this policy is well known internationally or not, but it has been there for a few years after President Xi took the power.
If I list my father as a non-accompanying dependent, according to the instruction, his passport is not required. But I'm not sure if the VO will ask for it during the processing. Anyways, I think you are right, I don't really have an option. I will write an explanation letter.
My father will retire at the end of 2024, I don't know how quick he can get the passport. A rumor says the local CPC committee will only let it go after 3 years of retirement, so I guess better to not put my bet on this. I plan to submit the application for my mother and list him as a non-accompanying dependent, and if god bless he gets the passport during the processing, I guess I can use webform to update the application, correct?


The truth is, he is just a normal public servant. He was the principal of a primary school for many years and then he got assigned a local government position in the bureau of education, and two years ago he was transferred to the bureau of sports without doing anything meaningful because of COVID-19 restrictions. He got this passport restriction only because of his level/rank, which is effectively the award of his long public service history.

Assume there is likely a way to finesse getting a passport if you know the right people in the right places and maybe willing to offer a gift of some sort